Work Text:
To be loved is to be known.
Minho keeps Gally's favorite drink—orange juice—in his own refrigerator. In his own apartment. In case Gally wants something to drink while he's visiting.
To be loved is to be known.
Gally has an extra storage space just for Minho's running shoes. He keeps Minho's worn-out shoes there, just in case Minho needs them.
To be loved is to be known.
Minho has extra inhalers kept in his bedside table. He doesn't need them, not for himself. It's in case Gally forgets his or needs an extra one.
To be loved is to be known.
Gally has a playlist full of music that he doesn't listen to. It's all of Minho's favorite songs and artists. He plays it in the car, while cleaning, he'll even find himself putting the playlist on while working out. Even though he claims to not like Minho's taste in music.
To be loved is to be known.
Minho taped sticky-note reminders around Gally's apartment, reminding him to take his medication every morning and night. Gally looks at the small smiley faces and hearts every time he takes the medicine.
To be loved is to be known.
Gally calls and invites Minho over whenever there are chances of thunderstorms. He always checks the weather application on his phone every morning, just to see if there's even a slight chance of lightning in their area.
To be loved is to be known.
Minho studiously avoids talking about parents around Gally. Gally's father is a subject that Gally avoids like the plague. So, Minho avoids it like the plague, too.
To be loved is to be known.
Gally knows where the scars on Minho's body are without having to look. He knows the sensitive parts, and the fully numb parts. He traces them with ease, as if they're his own. It makes Minho fall asleep every single time.
To be loved is to be known.
Minho likes to play "connect the dots". But with Gally's skin. Connecting his freckles and moles that covered his shoulders and back. When Gally is asleep, he connects the ones on his face.
To be loved is to be known.
Gally plugs Minho's hearing aids in when Minho forgets to. He does this often, especially when he falls asleep unexpectedly.
To be loved is to be known.
Minho has two different types of coffee in his cabinet. Gally only like one specific kind, so Minho had it ordered and shipped to his apartment to keep for Gally.
To be loved is to be known.
Gally has orange marmalade in his cabinet. Minho likes to climb on the counter and eat it by the spoonfuls. This is the fifth jar he's had to buy.
To be loved is to be known.
"..Since when do you drink orange juice?" Gally asks, peering into Minho's refrigerator. He holds up a bottle of orange juice, unopened. Minho doesn't look up from his laptop, continuing to work on his paperwork for his physical therapist job. He shrugs, squinting as he types something. Gally sighs, shaking the bottle around. "Min, You drink apple juice. Not orange."
"Yep." Minho says, writing more notes down in a patient's portfolio. Gally groans, shaking the bottle again to try and get Minho's attention.
"This isn't apple juice, idiot. You grabbed the wrong bottle." Gally says, grabbing a cup from the cabinet beside of the refrigerator. He keeps his eyes on Minho, not needing to look where he's grabbing. Minho's apartment is etched into his mind like his own apartment is.
"No I didn't. You like orange juice." Minho simply says, frowning as he backspaces and re-types a sentence.
Gally freezes. The words sinking through his brain. Slowly, like a sinking ship. It all clicks in Gally's mind, now. He understands them. Their dynamic, how they work. And he's pretty sure Minho already understands, at least, the sly smirk on Minho's face tells Gally that he's known for a while.
The orange juice. The running shoes. The inhalers. The playlist. The sticky-note reminders. The weather. The parents. The scars. The freckles. The hearing aids. The coffee. The marmalade.
Gally smiles to himself, then looks at Minho, who is smiling at him. Placing the orange juice back in its proper place. He then spots the bottle of apple juice right behind the orange juice.
Gally shuts the door to the refrigerator and walks over to Minho, who scoots back from the dining room table and stands. Minho opens his arms, a motion that ushers Gally to embrace him. Gally does so, holding Minho tightly.
"To be loved is to be known, or whatever that quote is." Minho says, voice muffled by Gally's shirt. Gally laughs, pressing kisses to the top of Minho's head.
"Yeah. To be loved is to be known." Gally parrots, heart warming at the feeling of kisses being pressed to his shoulder.
To be loved is to be known.